


Alien

by Sampika



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alien Planet, Drabble, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-07
Updated: 2017-11-07
Packaged: 2019-01-30 12:44:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12653757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sampika/pseuds/Sampika
Summary: Tony wakes up on an alien planet.





	Alien

Tony didn’t know how he got here. One moment, he was tinkering in his lab, and then… his memories were a bit blurry, but he somehow wound up here - wherever _here_ was. It wasn’t Earth, that was for sure.

The first thing he noticed was that it was damp, and cold. Like a forest in the pacific northwest, except very clearly _not_. The ground was well packed, moist soil, with layers of mycelium practically everywhere he looked. Massive fungi - truly _massive_ , things that would dwarf Oregon’s famous honey mushroom - sprouted from the ground and out of dark tree trunks, effectively cutting out nearly all the sunlight from above. Only a single beam was able to penetrate the fungal canopy, lighting up the small space he was in. What looked like it might have been water, but was much too bright blue and seemed to glow with some form of bio-luminescence, flowed by next to his head in a small stream, the only sound to infiltrate the place besides his admittedly unsteady breathing.

Getting to his feet, he dusted off his jeans and ACDC t-shirt, not even daring to wonder what kinds of mold or alien bacteria might have latched onto his body. He shuddered at the thought.

Dank, musty air greeted his nose when he took a deep breath, causing him to grimace. Not the best smell, but there wasn’t much to be done about that. Tony briefly remembered pocketing the bandana Rhodey’s dog had been wearing when he visited, and quickly tied it around the lower half of his face. At least the smell of wet dog was one he knew and tolerated, and a layer of protection from whatever spores might be in the air couldn’t hurt.

Without his Iron Man suit, Tony was defenseless and alone. FRIDAY wasn’t there to scan the environment or keep him calm and grounded with her constant snarkiness. He shuddered again, and wondered if maybe something in this world had already infiltrated his system. The first human to come down with an alien sickness, what a thought. Pepper did always tell him he tended to be a bit paranoid.

 _Get your mind together, Stark!_ What were the first things one would need in a survival situation? Shelter, water, food. The first box could be ticked easily enough. He hoped. The second, well… That glowing turquoise stream did not look appealing in any way. As for food? Tony couldn’t even hope to know what might be safe for him to eat. There were all sorts of plants around him, mostly consisting of mushrooms or moss or other fungi.

Just as he mustered up the energy to look around (not that it would do him much good, but maybe he would find some sort of a civilization - that he probably couldn’t communicate with anyway, but for god’s sake, he would cross that bridge when he came to it), the distinctive shuffling of feet among mushrooms sounded from further in the forest. In the _darkness._

The hair on the back of his neck immediately stood on end - he was helpless, defenseless, and god only knew what exotic species might lurk in these woods. What was certain was that whatever lived in such a dark environment as this had to be dangerous. There was no way it _couldn’t_ be. He gulped and looked around, knowing that he made perfect prey for a hungry beast. If only he had a weapon… 

Tony bent down to quickly swipe up what he hoped was a sharp stick from the forest floor. When he looked back up, four blue, glowing eyes glared back from within the shadows. 

He froze, holding his breath.

Slowly, the four eyes blinked. And then they rose up, and up, and _up_ , from what was evidently the crouch of a predator, until it towered above him like a god. Tony’s heart did a soaring flip straight down to the pit of his stomach, and his muscles tensed, poised to spring into a wild beeline to who knows where.

And then the animal stalked into the light. 

He wanted to describe it as a dinosaur, but his mind only got as far as, “ _That can’t be right, dinosaurs are extinct,_ ” before the carnivore’s gleaming razor-blade teeth were making one hell of a display of ill intent - and coming _straight towards him._ Letting out a frantic, hysterical yelp, Tony whipped around hard enough to give himself whiplash and bolted into the darkness. The possible consequences that could become of his actions never even crossed his mind. 

He only focused on getting from one patch of sunlight to the next - islands of light in a sea of alien darkness. The sound of the creature’s frustrated shriek and wood and fungus alike being torn in it’s claws as it gave chase only spurred Tony on faster - and oh god did he wish he had his suit. Two blasts from the repulsors and the beast would be done for.

Breaking through the treeline into a small clearing, Tony found what looked like the stone ruins of an old temple. A temple meant civilization, and civilization meant they probably knew how to _kill_ the beast chasing him. He raced towards the stones, breaths ragged as he flung himself through a doorway and down a set of narrow stairs, hoping that the creature would realize it was too big to follow and just turn around and leave him to _live._

That was not the case.

An explosion of stones and dust rained down as the dinosaur-like creature barrelled into the ancient walls, and it was honestly a wonder Tony managed not to get hit by debris. He’d endangered his life even _further_ , entering the ruins, and _how could he be so stupid?_ Falling dust made him blink and rub at his eyes, but he was grateful for the bandana that kept most of it from invading his nose or mouth. But he didn’t have long to dwell on it as the beast above him let out another shriek, spotting him among the rubble and fixing him with a cold, four-eyed glare. 

A sudden, booming roar drew its attention away, and an even _larger_ creature tore through the trees, wicked teeth finding their way into the first creature’s neck. The beasts thrashed around above him, sending the foundations of rubble shaking and the ground trembling under their onslaught. It was like a competition, a battle for what was probably the first scrap of helpless meat they could get their jaws on in a long time. What even was this hellscape of a planet?!

But Tony wasn’t about the look a gift horse in the mouth - he took their distraction for the salvation it was, and scrambled to climb out of the ruins, rushing back into the trees. He narrowly avoided trampling a pack of tiny, ocelot-like creatures swarming the skeleton of a less fortunate soul, but the scavengers quickly parted to let him pass. Tony left them behind without a thought, and ran until his lungs burned and his legs ached. 

Drawing to a stop, Tony pulled the bandana away from his face and took in several shaky breaths, leaning on his knees to keep himself from falling over. 

This was not how he’d imagined his Saturday evening would go.

**Author's Note:**

> My environmental science teacher told us to write a story using 20 words from a list, with no other rules or requirements whatsoever. Therefore, I found it the perfect opportunity to make a quick Tony drabble.
> 
> I don't plan on adding more to this any time soon, but perhaps if I get inspiration for it? It could turn out to be a pretty neat little story. If anyone wants to make a little continuation of it (because I know I can't be the only one who gets upset by unfinished writing), you can totally write it if you want! Also, I don't know if Rhodey actually has a dog in one of the comics or anything, I just wanted to envision Tony with a bandana mask.


End file.
